Leena Srivastava

Biography

Leena Srivastava assumed her role as Deputy Director General for Science at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) on 15 November 2019.

As Deputy Director General for Science, Srivastava provides interdisciplinary scientific leadership to the institute to ensure that IIASA research stays at the forefront of scientific endeavor.

Srivastava was the vice chancellor of the TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, an interdisciplinary higher education institution focused on sustainable development from 2012 to 2019. Prior to this, she worked for over three decades on research in the areas of energy, environment, and climate change policies at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), including almost nine years as executive director.

She is highly engaged in climate and sustainable development issues through participation on various boards and committees, and in advisory roles in international organizations, research institutions, and the corporate sector.

Srivastava co-chairs the Advisory Committee of Future Earth; is a member of the president's advisory group on climate change and sustainable development at the Asian Development Bank; and has been appointed as a member of the Technical Working Group 3: Enabling SDGs through Inclusive, Just Energy Transitions,High Level Energy Dialogue 2021, by the United Nations.

She is also a member of the International Advisory Board of a major UK Government-supported research project (EEIST) led by the universities of Exeter, Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, and Anglia Ruskin, together with leading institutions in Brazil, China, the EU and India; Member of Scientific Advisory Board of the Research Field "Energy" at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany and a member of Advisory Council of Global Women's Network for the Energy Transition (GWNET).

Srivastava was the Coordinating Lead Author of ‘Working Group III' of the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the cross-cutting theme Anchor on "Sustainable Development" for the Fourth Assessment Report of IPCC. She was a member of the Expert Committee devoted to framing India's energy policies, and of the National Security Advisory Board of the Government of India. She was a co-chair of the science advisory group to the UN Secretary General's 2019 Climate Action Summit. Srivastava has greatly contributed to improving the design of policies concerning energy consumption and efficiency in India. Furthermore, she has championed and endeavored to encourage increased cooperation regarding energy between countries in South Asia, such as Butan, Nepal, Bangladesh and India.

She was awarded the Knight of the Order of Academic Palms (Chevalier Dans l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques) in 2008, by the Prime Minister of the Republic of France, as well as a ‘Certificate of Recognition' by the Prime Minister of India for her contribution to the work of the IPCC.

Srivastava holds a master's degree in Economics from the University of Hyderbad and a PhD in Energy Economics from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, India.

Last update: 18 FEB 2021